Shortly after graduating from high school, Chris Tucker left his native Atlanta for the comedy clubs of Los Angeles. Soon he was a regular at L.A.'s comedy clubs, which earned him a spot on Russell Simmons' Def Comedy All-Star Jam (HBO, 1992). His performance on Def Comedy Jam landed him a role as Johnny Booze in House Party 3. Tucker followed that role with one in the surprise hit Friday (1995). His breakout role, however, occurred in the Bruce Willis science fiction vehicle, The Fifth Element (1997), in which he played a high-energy 23rd-century talk show host. The frenetic funny man (one critic claimed that Tucker could “make caffeine nervous”) plays opposite Hong Kong martial arts star Jackie Chan in Rush Hour (1998), Rush Hour 2 (2001), and Rush Hour 3 (2006).